ANALYSIS OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY IN DIFFERENT METALLIC MATERIALS UNDER CONTROLLED TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS

Abstract

In this study, the thermal conductivity behaviour of some metallic materials has been considered under controlled temperature. The investigation was conducted based on comparison of five different metals such as copper, aluminium, brass, steel and iron to see how efficient they are in transferring the heat between two temperatures. The experimental variation was minimized in the measurement by standardizing experimental conditions in the laboratory and by making a reliable comparison between the test metals. It was found that copper has highest thermal conductivity throughout the experiment while aluminum had the highest value of conductivity and comparatively low value were obtained for brass, iron and steel. The conductivity was seen to be decreasing as the temperature was increasing and hence there was an increase in the resistance to the flow of electricity as the temperature was increased. It also found that higher free electron mobility metals worked better with respect to the heat transfer properties and alloys had lower conductivity values in terms of atomic scattering and structural resistance. The overall result of the study can be summarised by saying that the thermal conductivity is highly dependent on the composition of the material, the temperature level and the internal structure of the material, in general. Results are useful in selecting the suitable metallic materials for engineering systems like heat exchanger, electric component, industrial machines, and thermal management.